Tag Archives: Rainbow Rowell

Landline was perfectly heartwarming, eye-opening, and tense, with just the right amount of fantasy involving a time-traveling phone.

It was the perfect book for dragging me out of my book slump, and I found I enjoyed RR’s writing much more when I was reading something in which I was the target audience (see my review of Eleanor & Park). A few things RR nails every time: her characters, her dialogue, her love stories.

She creates a love story you want to mimic and characters you want to be, fall in love with, or be friends with. Her dialogue is so on point I sometimes wonder if she just records her daily life and then inserts it into a book she’s working on at the end of each day. Her love stories have details that make me sure they are her details or someone she must know very well…minute things like Georgie and Neal’s first kiss. The moment was so personal and vivid, I assume it must have happened.

Then there was the list she made when trying to cope with the reality/fantasy of possibly having a magic phone, and she referenced one of my favorite TV shows (Lost) and all-time favorite movies (It’s a Wonderful Life). Georgie’s train of thought followed what I’m sure I would have been thinking in her situation, which only tells me what I already knew: RR really gets her audience. The reason her books sell is because of their honesty to real life. Regardless of how or where she gets her inspiration, she works it. She molds it and makes a living, breathing story with it.

Sometimes writers pour themselves out in a way that is exhausting for the reader, leaving them begging for the end of the chapter so they can rest. Rowell’s style is so captivating, I found myself doing just the opposite. I would think, “Okay, last chapter. You’ve got other things to do.” Then I would find myself immersed in another chapter far further in than I’d promised myself. Her writing style is captivating. Rather than leaving me tired, it woke me up and kept me guessing at the end of each chapter with just enough mystery to intrigue me.

I love that Rowell can write to multiple audiences, both young adult and actual adult. She writes in a way that I perceive must be genuine. She has the ability to create relationships worth fighting for with characters who are relatable. I can’t wait to read more of her work, and I hope she continues to have success. I’ll be rooting for her.

My only complaint with this book was it really made me long for Christmas break.

No matter which was written on that postcard, I think the meaning is clear.

Understandably, a lot of readers were upset by Rowell’s ending, and although I couldn’t stop myself from saying, “Really, Rainbow?” after I finished, I am happy with how she left it. Unfinished. I like to think that she couldn’t tear herself away from the characters or relationship she created. I like to think that she couldn’t imagine just one ending to their story (because maybe it has no ending) and she decided that it would be a disservice to her readers if she planned out an ending for them. She wasn’t afraid to let her readers choose their own paths. She also managed to give us some hope. There is still one question sitting at the forefront of my mind, though. What took her so long to write him back?

I have to commend Rowell for creating something so unforced and right. For creating something worth reading and for managing to put love, which is sometimes so unexplainable, into words.

I can see this novel being extremely influential to a lot of teens who don’t exactly fit society’s mold and don’t really want to. Eleanor wasn’t different for the sake of being different; she was just being who she wanted to be and being her truer self, which happened to be a very “unconventional” young lady. I had so many friends like her in high school. I can’t help but look back on the dust jacket and wonder if Rainbow sees a bit of herself in Eleanor as well. More and more lately I’ve wondered just how much authors place themselves within their characters. In my opinion, John Green seems to do it often (Paper Towns & Looking for Alaska).

Even though I loved Rowell’s story, I’m going to be frank on why it didn’t receive five stars from me. I found her characters believable, but I never really got a good grip on how Eleanor looked, apart from the big red hair and outfits suggesting she got dressed in the dark. Her peers in the book make her out to be ugly, but Park doesn’t seem to care because he cares about everything else. So, Eleanor is “so ugly”, but Park used to date Tina, who is supposed to be the hottest girl in school. It seems like a big switch. I’m not saying it’s never happened, but it’s a stretch. For awhile I assumed Eleanor looked just like Rowell. The collector’s edition had pictures on the inside covers if anyone wants to check those out.

Another thing I found perplexing was the difference between Richie and Tina. All the blame is slated toward Tina the whole time even though we know Richie is a pain at home. Tina bullies Eleanor on the bus, Tina used to date Park, and Tina messes with Eleanor in gym class almost every day. Obviously, we believe wholeheartedly that Tina is out to ruin Eleanor’s life. But wait, don’t forget about Richie! I find it hard to believe that a grown man with the ability to ruin her life in other ways would take the time each week to sneak into her room and scribble mean things onto her textbooks. It’s just another stretch that I can’t get over. Richie had to break up Eleanor and Park’s happiness somehow, but I feel like it could have been easily done in a number of other more plausible ways.

This is what made it just a four-star book for me. Nonetheless, I was captivated by Rowell’s story and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book to other young adults. I plan on reading Rowell’s other books, and I think she’s a terrific storyteller.